Maxine Waters: Another Congressperson with Ethics Problems

The Caucus blog reports that Maxine Waters, D-CA, who “has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegations that she helped steer government money to a bank in which her husband owned shares, is asking for an investigation into the committee that has been investigating her.”

On Tuesday, Waters

said she would introduce a resolution calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint a bipartisan task force to investigate the ethics panel’s decision last month to place two of its lawyers on paid administrative leave. On Nov. 19, the day the committee announced it was delaying Waters’ trial, it also placed Cindy Morgan Kim, the committee’s deputy chief counsel who was leading the investigation, and Stacy Sovereign, a committee lawyer, on indefinite leave for reported problems with their handling of the case against [her].

The resolution warns that the delay in Ms. Waters’ trial violates her "due process rights and the rules of the committee," and says that the committee’s handling of the situation has subjected it to "public ridicule" and served to "unjustly impugn the integrity" of Ms. Waters.

I personally have my ear pretty close to the ground on this and I haven’t heard anything from the public at large ridiculing the Ethics Committee. I have, however, received many emails calling for the ousting and/or outright imprisonment of the likes of Ms. Waters. As for her integrity being “unjustly impugned,” I have to agree with those who argue that the thing that mostly impugns her integrity is that she sought bailout monies to specifically benefit a bank predicated on its being black owned.

Indeed, Waters argued that her actions were taken not simply to help one black-owned bank that her husband had an interest in. Instead, she argued, her intent was to help a group of black banks. It is not unfair for reasonable minds to expect elected representatives to act in the interest of all Americans equally.

“Whereas all of these actions have subjected the committee to public ridicule, produced contempt for the ethics process, created the public perception that the committee’s purpose was to unjustly impugn the integrity of a member of the House, and weakened the ability of the committee to properly conduct its investigative duties, all of which has brought discredit to the House,” reads one clause in her resolution.

Here again we see the over-inflated opinion and unwashed arrogance of someone who holds public office. Need I remind taxpayers who foots the bill for the lavish lifestyles and perks that Waters, her family, and those in public office enjoy? If anything, the public should be outraged that more attention hasn’t been given to the untoward and highly questionable actions of House members long before this.